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SEPTEMBER 2003 NEWSLETTER
© Bruce Buck, editor

GREAT EASTERN LOBSTER CLASSIC
SILVER CUP VET’S WORLD CH.
Addieville, Rhode Island
August 8~10, 2003

Started in 1999, Geoff Gaebe’s Addieville East Farms “Great Eastern
Lobster Classic and Veterans’ Silver Cup World Championship” shoot has
taken on a life of it’s own. We like to think that’s because it is
co-sponsored by your Connecticut Travelers, but frankly the credit we
should get is for being smart enough to team up with Geoff. James
Brown isn’t the hardest working man in show business. Geoff is.

In spite of the on-and-off rain all weekend, 240 guns handed in their
scorecards for the main event, while almost that many participated in
the myriad of preliminary shoots. While there were many Travelers in
attendance, since this was an open shoot co-sponsored by us, many
participants were not Travelers.

The preliminary course was “friendly”. With 23 scores of 90 or better,
Andy Duffy’s 99x100 was the cream on top. It’s hard to imagine a score
like that, but if you leave the door just a little bit open, the good
guys will walk right on in. The little 50 bird subgauge preliminaries
shared various stations with the 100 bird preliminary any-gauge shoot.
20s, pumps and SxS shot the slightly more difficult front half of the
course, while the 28s and 410s shot the back half. The open
preliminary shot all stations. This Friday shoot was so popular with
180 guns that Geoff will go to a squadded preliminary next year to
make sure of smooth flow. In addition to the Friday preliminaries,
there were also plenty of chances to warm your barrels at the very
difficult five stand, Make-A-Break and long bird re-entry events.

The weather was threatening all weekend. On Friday we had humidity of
93% and intermittent rain showers. Everyone has his favorite garb for
hot, rainy weather. Some go for rain gear while others prefer the
umbrella. Gas guns are best kept as dry as possible as the Berettas
aren’t known for functioning well when submerged.

Give some thought to how to prevent your glasses from fogging in warm
rain. Some less than totally bright shooters dealt with fogging
glasses by simply removing them. Not only is this against the rules
and grounds for disqualification if persistent, but it’s also pretty
dumb. You go deaf slowly. You go blind real fast. Miss Manners, she of
the eagle eye and ferret-like intuition, was pleased to note that
there were no Travelers making a “spectacle” of themselves by
violating this important safety rule. If you can’t see, then stop,
wipe your glasses off, and put them back on! There are lots of
anti-fog products out there on the market at scuba shops and the like.
Use ‘em.

And while ranting about safety- I’m occasionally seeing experienced
gas gun shooters thoughtlessly checking their screw chokes for
tightness while the gun is loaded! No kidding. If you want to be
called “Lefty”, change your name, don’t earn it the old fashioned way.
I know it’s just a reflexive action, but there’s a limit.

Saturday dawned clearer and all three flights had decent weather when
shooting the 15 station Ruger course. The targets were consistently
medium hard with no “rest stops” or gimmes to salve the egos of the
middle class shooter. There were 28 scores in the 80s, but no 90s,
quite a contrast to the preliminary.

The targets du jour were a variety of shots thrown down and with
power. They sometimes crossed and sometimes came slightly in, but all
were aimed at the ground from a height and thrown with gusto. With
gravity on their side, they tend to lose a bit less speed than usual,
so longer leads/faster swings were in order. The downward trajectory
also makes swinging awkward if you stand up straight and try to chop
down. Some shooters did best tipping their whole body to get their
shoulders in line with the flight path and then swinging level from
this canted position.

I had the privilege of shooting with Jesse Briley. He is a charming
companion and very much the Renaissance man with wide ranging
interests far outside his machining empire. He’s a fine shot too,
using a well-worn Perazzi sporter. Maybe this is a tale out of school,
but I must mention that I never saw Jesse change a choke the entire
day.

Saturday night was the big banquet, held under Geoff’s large tent. It
was all done under the cold gaze of a huge lobster ice sculpture
surrounded with wheels of cheese and bunches of grapes. After a
suitably long cocktail hour, the evening began with some entertainment
by Ziggy the Frisbee Dog. This border collie and handlers did amazing
tricks catching Frisbees. That hound probably would have had a higher
score catching clays on the course than most of us did.

Andy Lussier’s Culinary Connection provided all the luncheon food at
the shoot, plus the lobster and steak at the dinner. It was first
class and very much appreciated. So were all the door prizes awarded
after dinner. Geoff definitely, positively is the King of the Door
Prize. When you entered the various shoots, including the side events,
you got free prize tickets for the drawings. The prize display looked
like a scene from Heaven At Cabela’s. The lucky draw prize tables
groaned under the weight vests, magazines, hats, shooting bags, ammo,
Ruger guns, fly rods, several Beretta 391s, leather gun cases, wine, a
Franchi shogun, a Winchester 22, dart boards, sporting prints, videos,
a Browning Gold, glasses, a Rizzini O/U, sculpture, tool kits, gun
cases, a dozen $100 Briley certificates, an Orvis fly rod, snap caps,
fly tying, hats and an all expense paid shooting weekend. It took half
an hour of heavy lifting to give it all away. Just about everyone got
something. The evening ended with a twenty minute fireworks display.
Fittingly they were thrown as report pairs, following pairs and true
pairs. This wasn’t a little backyard display bottle rocket deal
either. It was a major effort and extracted the appropriate oohs and
aahs from the after dinner crowd.

Sunday produced a soaking shower or two for the noon flight, but
spared the others. The Sunday Rizzini course was generally considered
friendlier than the previous day’s. It’s worth noting that the
Saturday and Sunday courses were on completely different layouts in
separate parts of Geoff’s very large preserve. He has more than enough
land to run three complete 100 bird courses simultaneously.

At the Sunday night awards ceremony, Geoff mentioned that he would be
mailing out almost $9,000 in prize money. It came as no surprise that
Andy Duffy won the shoot with 88, 96=184. Joe Carey was second at
89,92=181. You can read up on all the other finishers, Travelers and
non-Travelers, at Addieville’s website: <www.addieville.com>.

The major concurrent event was the Silver Cup. This is billed as the
championship for Veterans (55~64) and Super Vets (65 and over). US
Sporting Team member Mike Bittmann won with 84, 93=177, but our own
Vinny LaScalza was second with 85, 85=170. Zaid Siddig was second in
the Super Vets with 160.

In spite of iffy weather, this shoot was a perfect example of how to
give good value for the entry dollar and how to organize a lot of
shooters. I hope that Addieville will be considered for a US Open in
the future. It’s an ideal location and certainly has the
organizational skills. Well done Geoff and Paula. See you there next
year.

DUST DEVIL…

Hizzoner, Mucho Pomposo, was in particularly fine fettle. Word from
his agents at the Instituto do Vinho do Porto was that his stash of
Oloroso Glorioso Vintage Port was aging contentedly in its oak casks
atop the Fonseca winery in the Duoro section of Portugal. Even more
delightful was the information that the current harvest was a total
disaster, something that would push up the value of his stores
considerably. Life was good, even if his gout did act up occasionally.

The gout necessitated a golf cart for his shooting. Actually, Hizzoner
was slothful and took the cart just in case there might be an attack
of gout at some time in the future. It pays to be careful and in the
meantime he had a comfy seat. Miss Manners and the Technoid preferred
to walk, especially when one considered that the Judge took up the
entire bench of the cart. Miss Manners was snappily attired in a Swiss
outfit for the day. From dirndl to birkenstocks, she was a grey
haired, bespectacled Heidi personified. It was only that she eschewed
shepherdess’s crook for the Spaghettini Porchini 28 gauge cased and
slung over her narrow shoulders. The Technoid sort of shuffled along
in his baggy chinos, untied Reeboks and shirt with the tails out,
while he simultaneously attempted to thumb in a message on his
Blackberry, check his exact position on a small GPS, send a photo with
his cell phone and slash at an errant butterfly with his slide rule.
In short, it was business as usual for our terrific trio of tautology.

It was also business as usual for Mowbry Monsoor and his posse. They
were about half way through the course. Mowbry, called “Mo” by his dad
and “Wbry” by everyone else, was shooting pretty well. In fact, he
thought that he might just have a chance at winning Class B. This was
a big enough shoot so that it was worth it for him to “cash in” his
punches to move up a class in return for big class prize money. At
little shoots with small purses, he made sure not to win his class by
shooting his last couple of stations from the hip. Hey, he was playing
the system just like every one else did.

The station turned out well so Wbry decided to go for the win and the
money. His next couple of stations were also pretty good. He just had
to hold up for two more and he’d have a lip lock on a fat purse. He
warned his pals to be extra vigilant so as not to miss any piece that
the klutz of a ref might not see. To Wbry all refs were klutzes. The
posse didn’t need any encouragement.

As the Judge, Miss Manners and the Technoid arrived at the station,
the ref had just called one of Wbry’s birds “Lost!”. The posse howled
as one in indignation. “He whacked it good. Didn’t you see all that
dust come off the bird?” cried Wbry’s cohort. “That’s a hit. You saw
the dust.” cried another. “OK, if you say so” said the ref, anxious to
avoid confrontation with a furious Wbry and his slack-jawed entourage.

Our Terrific Trio watched and said nothing. The Technoid picked up a
piece of broken target and examined the bit of light grey degradable
“bio”. The Judge harrumphed and Miss Manners poked around in the
little army gas mask bag she always carried and smiled.

Wbry shot again and again the dust flew, the posse roared and the
referee acquiesced. Wbry, now finished, left with a triumphant gleam
in his eye, looking forward to the last station. The Judge, Miss
Manners and the Technoid quickly shot and followed.

On the way, Miss Manners whispered in the Technoid’s ear. He nodded,
punched some numbers into his miniature Cray super computer, printed
the answer on his pocket printer and handed Miss M the sheet. She
disappeared into the bushes near the last station, only to emerge a
few minutes later slightly disheveled with a touch of grease on her
dirndl and a smile on her face. The Judge nodded and sat back to
watch.

The first bird of Wbry’s first pair was crushed, but the second only
dusted. The ref called “Dead and lost”. The posse howled that they had
all seen the dust and that the bird had been hit, so it was dead. This
referee did not acquiesce, as had the previous one. On the second
pair, Wbry again centered the first bird and broke it. The second bird
was also clearly hit, but it only gave off a puff of dust. It careened
wildly, but sailed on intact. “Dead and, uh, er, Lost!” called the
nervous ref. “you hit it, but it didn’t break”.

On the next pair, both birds were solidly hit in clouds of dust, but
remained unbroken. They tumbled through the air unscathed. It was as
though they were made of metal. And it was the same for Wbry’s final
pair. Two solid hits, but no breaks or dust.

“Hey, there’s something fishy with those targets. I hit them good and
nothing happened.” whined Wbry. “I’m going to go and look at one of
those things.”

“Oh, I really wouldn’t do that” interjected Miss Manners. “There are
snakes in there.” “Yeah lady, fat chance of that” said Wbry as he
pushed the ref aside and plunged into the bushes looking for the
invincible targets. The Judge folded his hands over his ample stomach
and patiently waited.

It didn’t take long for the first howl. Then there was the sound of
someone crashing through the brush in a panicked escape. It was Wbry
running as though his very life depended on it. He didn’t’ stop until
he was safely back in his pickup heading at high speed down the road.

At the awards ceremony Miss Manners was pleased to see that a very
nice young man won class B and proudly handed his winnings to his
sobbing mother, saying “Now we can pay the rent mama.”

“Miss M”, smiled the Judge, “how did you do that?”. “Well, it was
easy.” replied our doyenne of decorum. “The Technoid figured out the
exact order in which the targets in the machines would be thrown
during Wbry’s turn. I simply substituted the aluminum targets with the
little package of talcum powder taped on that I always carry with me
just in case. Letting him hit a couple of regular targets first gave
him so much hope. Then we crushed him. The rubber snakes I strewed
about were just insurance.”

Moral: The new bio targets are very prone to visible dust when hit,
but not broken. That’s because they are made from a lighter colored
compound that shows up better than the previous black compound. You
got just as much dust from the old black targets when you nicked them,
but black dust is harder to see than the light grey dust from the
bios, so it mostly went unnoticed.

NSCA rule IV-K-6 clearly states that a “visible piece” must be broken
from the target. Dust is not a piece. Yes, you hit the bird, but you
didn’t hit it enough to kill it or score it. A visible piece means a
single chunk you can see. Whacking the bird and knocking it sideways,
as Wbry did on the metal birds, is clearly a hit, but not a scoring
hit. Same with dust. DDC. DDC? Dust Don’t Count!

SUBGAUGE USAGE…

Just as an aside, at our July Sandanona shoot with 159 shooters, five
used the 20 gauge, four the 28, one the 410, one pump and five SxS.

MORE SAFETY…

The new Beretta Optima Bore chokes are soooo long and sexy that they
just have to be extra good. Beretta is clever at marketing and has
realized that the average shooter wants to hand-tighten his chokes,
not use a wrench.

With that in mind, Beretta’s new Optima Bore extended chokes are
nicely grooved at the extention. So far, so good. But the downside is
that there are no notches for the traditional Beretta “T” wrench.
Instead, they supply you with a nasty little hook wrench meant to
engage the finger grooves.

Which, of course, means that no one ever bothers to wrench the chokes
into place. Everyone finger tightens them. Several other choke makers
do this also. Usually works, right?

At a recent shoot, a downcast owner showed me his brand new Beretta
Optima Bore with a mangled choke. The choke had worked loose because
it was only finger tightened and finally a shot tore it out of the
barrel, destroying the choke and damaging the barrel. Of course, that
only happens to the other guy.






*** 2003 CTSCA SHOOTING CALENDAR ***

SEP 14 FAIRFIELD COUNTY F&G, CT-SMALL GAUGE CHAMPIONSHIPS
OCT 10~12 PENNSYLVANIA -FALL TRIP Note new date!
OCT 19 MILLBROOK ROD & GUN, NY- OKTOBERSCHUTZENFEST
NOV 16 EAST MOUNTAIN, NY-CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS
NOV 30 EAST MOUNTAIN, NY-KOEHLER SOC. FUNDRAISER THREE SHOT
DEC 14 MID-COUNTY, NY-DICK LOSEE MEMORIAL CHRISTMAS PARTY


*** OTHER SHOOTS OF INTEREST ***
ALWAYS, ALWAYS, CALL AHEAD TO CONFIRM

SEP 6 NEWGATE COON CLUB, CT (860-738-3619) SPORTING CLAYS CLASSIC
SEP 7 MID-COUNTY, NY (904-677-5736) SEPTEMBER CLASSIC SPORTING
SEP 9~14 NATIONAL GUNCLUB, TX (800- 877-5338) NSCA NATIONALS
SEP 18~21 ORVIS/SANDANONA, NY (413-339-5347) VINTAGERS 7TH ANNUAL
OCT 11 ADDIEVILLE EAST, RI (401-568-3185) CLAYS FOR STRAYS SC CH
NOV 2 NEWGATE COON CLUB, CT (860-738-3619) THREE SHOT SHOOT OUT
DEC 7 NEWGATE COON CLUB, CT (860-738-3619) CHRISTMAS AT THE COON




CONTACTING THE TRAVELERS...

CTSCA Home Office: Email <ctsca @email.com> (by far the best way) or
telephone 860-354-9351 if you absolutely must.

Membership, Address Changes and Shooting Class status: Contact Cyndi
Dalena at 860-582-3142 between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM. Or Email
shotguncyndi@prodigy.net

Guide Book questions, contact Dick Orenstein <oren@umich.edu> or call
203-226-5251.

To place an ad, post a shoot date in Reload! or simply heap abuse on
the editor, contact Bruce Buck at tel: 203-454-1080, fax: 707-215-0668
or email: <bcb23@columbia.edu>.







**** THE UPCOMING TRAVELERS MONTHLY SHOOT ****

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2003
THE TRAVELERS SMALL GAUGE CHAMPIONSHIP
FAIRFIELD FISH & GAME CLUB, MONROE, CONNECTICUT

Yes, the Connecticut Travelers actually do shoot in Connecticut. Not
often, but when we do, it is really worth it. We started our very
successful sub-gauge championship at Fairfield in 1997 (has it been
that long!) and found their course ideal for the little guns.

This shoot is for sub-gauge guns only. You can shoot your 12, but it
will just be for practice, not for prizes. Your choice. The prizes go
to the sub-gauge guns on this day. The course will be built for
sub-gauge. If you use a 12, even if it is a 12 gauge SxS or a pump,
it’s for practice only. Of course, you’ll still have just as much fun
and enjoy a delicious lunch.

Don’t have a 20, 28 or 410? Not to worry. We will make an effort to
put you in a squad with a loaner gun or with someone who is willing to
share. One way or the other, we will get it done. Remember, this is
for fun. You will be amazed at what you can hit with a sub-gauge gun.
When you send your reservation, if you don’t have a little gun check
the box that mentions that you will need to share a gun and what gauge
you prefer. Bring ammo for that gauge. No ammo is available at the
club.

In addition to separate prizes in each gauge, we will also award
prizes based on our normal handicap system. We simply add the
particular sub-gauge gun handicap to the actual score. The handicaps
are: 20 ga=5, 28 ga=10, 410 bore=20, pump and SxS get an additional 5.
Example: if you shoot a SxS 28 gauge you get 5 birds for the SxS and
10 for the 28 gauge for a total of 15. Pick whatever you feel will
give you the best chance or the biggest fudge factor. Shells are
limited to standard target weights for the gauge: 16- one oz, 20- 7/8
oz, 28- _ oz and 410- _ oz.

It’s all the usual drill. Arrive by 9:00 AM and check to see which
squad you are on. Squads marshal after the safety lecture. Everyone
will be presquadded because you will have preregistered and prepaid by
Thursday, September 11. If you haven’t, we look forward to seeing you
at the October shoot, but not at this one. Suck down some high-test
coffee and doughnuts as the Amazing Travelers Shoot Machine ramps up.
Lunch and lavish prizes are included. Guests are welcome at this
shoot. All of this for only $55. Oh, yes, Juniors (under 18) and
junior guests shoot FREE! How small gauge can you get?

Directions to Fairfield County Fish & Game, Monroe, CT: Merritt
Parkway (Route 15) to Exit 49 North “Rte 25 North, Danbury”. Take Rte
25 North for 5.3 miles to Route 111 North “Monroe”. Turn Right onto
Route 111 North and go another 5.3 miles to Hammertown Road on Left
(white house with white picket fence on left). Turn Left on
Hammertown Road and follow Hammertown Road 1.3 miles to club entrance
on Right. Clubhouse is .3 miles up the driveway. If lost, strayed or
stolen, call Fairfield County Fish & Game, Monroe, CT at 203-426-8351.

REMEMBER, EYE PROTECTION IS MANDATORY AT ALL TRAVELERS SHOOTS.